Paul McCartney is alive and well, but a well-placed rumor in 1969 had some thinking otherwise. On September 23, 1969, 43 years ago, the Northern Star newspaper of Northern Illinois University published a story claiming that McCartney had been killed in a car crash a few years earlier and had been replaced by a look-alike. A radio station in Detroit picked up on the story and ran with it. Within a month, the story had gone global and Beatles fans worldwide were collectively scratching their heads.

Wales Online9/23/2012How a £1 wig helped James Fox win West End role as Paul McCartney

Singer James Fox has revealed how a £1 Poundland wig helped him land a top role – impersonating mop-top Beatle Paul McCartney.The Fame Academy warbler donned the cheap fake tresses after his agent rang and told him to send in a video to West End theatre supremos struggling to find a double for the Liverpudlian legend.